This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

The MCSE is dead.. Long Live the MCSE!

The MCSE is dead.. Long Live the MCSE!

5 years ago, Microsoft shocked the world by not releasing an MCSE certification for the new Windows Server 2008 product line, recently they have announced that it's back! but in a rather different form..

In the drive to highlight the specialized skills required by complicated private cloud systems, Microsoft have released a new Solutions tier of certs
these certs marry up with the more traditional tracks of MCTS, MCITP and MCM but focus specifically on cloud infrastructure and advanced services

I would suggest anyone keen to 'get back on the MCSE' bandwagon take its specialized positioning into account, and having equivalent level MCITP certs would most certainly benefit you, there are also specific MCS* certs alligned with the components of the private cloud such as SQL and Windows

MS have produced a nice infographic with some typical industry numbers in it, although they are not unique to MS cloud offerings specifically, worth noting ;)

You should still be able to sit those exams and the other exams that make up the MCSE 2003... I haven't heard any retirement dates.

Click to expand...

The following is from the Microsoft website:

Q. What is the difference between the new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certifications and the previous Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certifications?

A. The new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) credential focuses on the ability to design and build technology solutions. The previous Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certification focused on a specific job role and can no longer be earned.

Q. What is the difference between the new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certifications and the previous Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certifications?

A. The new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) credential focuses on the ability to design and build technology solutions. The previous Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certification focused on a specific job role and can no longer be earned.

Click to expand...

So they retired the 290, 291, etc exams? last I checked these were still active...

even if they have not removed 290 and 291 as exams, the fact they no longer make the MCSA (administrator) available is hardly surprising, that cert with those exams is almost 10 years old, this is IT, 10 years is 10 years, and if you cant cross train those skills toward an 08 or equivalent skill then you probably have bigger hurdles in IT coming your way

Also they have not stated is is the same as an MCTS, they have positioned it at the bottom tier of the solution certification track, solutions by definition are more complex than point products or single job function certs, so this again, does not raise any red flags to me

i'm still more perplexed at why they used a rather famous acronym for something different, it will lead to masses of confusion, there was enough when they retired the MCSE, and that had a clear transition path, go figure

I am starting to think Microsoft do not like recruitment companies, because they couldn't make their life harder with the naming of their certs. MCITP for instance, you can be desktop support or an enterprise designer depending on the letters after MCITP, but when you're using a keyword search to narrow down the 3000 applications you had for a job, that's not going to help much. Now I can be a systems engineer or a solutions expert for having MCSE on my CV.

Bravo on the 3 year deal however, it's kept Cisco's certs more valuable than MS's since they both started IMHO.

**Edit: 3 Questions fellow cert chasers. Recertify every 3 years...... in what exactly? Can I still do the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer to avoid any confusion!) upgrade exams, 70-647 and 70-649? Admittedly I only have myself and possibly the addictiveness of all things VMware to blame for not doing them sooner but if I can sit them, what cert will I get :S This is all too confusing for a simple nerd such as I

Agree with you JK, MCTS / MCITP makes zero sense to people outside certification land, the acronym means nothing to them without significant further explanation.

The ability to get these certs in multiple domains just confuses recruiters, it could be SQL Development, Windows Server Admin, Desktop Support, etc.

Then add on the fact that in reality people are just expected to pick things up and run with it in IT.

I now have multiple MS certifications in multiple subjects, tracks and domains, spanning from support, development and databases. The idea of cert maintenance, even on a 2-3 year timetable is already impossible for me, and many cert tracks have been changing almost yearly.

Certification Links

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

CertForums.com is not sponsored by, endorsed by or affiliated with Cisco Systems, Inc. Cisco®, Cisco Systems®, CCDA™, CCNA™, CCDP™, CCNP™, CCIE™, CCSI™; the Cisco Systems logo and the CCIE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, including those of Microsoft, CompTIA, VMware, Juniper ISC(2), and CWNP are trademarks of their respective owners.